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Commentary: Partisan Gerrymandering at its Worst

Hearty congratulations are indeed in order this week. Democrats literally ran the table in terms capturing three of the most prominent statewide offices up for grabs during the just concluded midterm election. Tony Evers (the governor-elect), Josh Kaul (attorney general-elect) and Sarah Godlewski (state treasurer-elect) were all successful in their election bids for high office. In fact, Democrats swept the five statewide contests.

The midterm election in Wisconsin was remarkable for another reason as well: the unprecedented voter turnout for a midterm contest. According to unofficial returns from the Associated Press, nearly 2.7 million people voted. Without question, that is easily the most ever votes cast in a midterm election in Wisconsin. It is also higher than the 2,516,065 that voted in the 2012 recall election for governor.

Let’s not forget that “Wisconsin is the most extreme partisan gerrymander in the United States in the post-2010 cycle. It’s about as far out from what you would consider to be fair as you can imagine.” (Attorney Gerry Hebert, who’s the executive director of the Washington, D.C.- based Campaign Legal Center. Wisconsin Public Radio, May 24, 2016). Make no mistake, partisan gerrymandering is a tradition as old as the Republic.